Piotr Schmidt - trąbka Grzech Piotrowski - saksofon Mimo Cinelu - instr. perkusyjne Paweł Tomaszewski - fortepian Michał Barański - kontrabas Sebastian Kuchczyński - perkusja
Album: "Komeda's Songs Without Words"
Wydawca: SJ Records (2026)
Tekst: Piotr Banasiak
Cytując Pana Premiera: Pan Piotr Schmidt – wiadomo – postać znana. Dorobek już pokaźny, w jednych budzący podziw i szacunek, w innych – nieco odmienne uczucia.
Materiał: utwory live z koncertu Eli Bennett Quartet zarejestrowanego podczas festiwalu Jazz w Ruinach 2024 w Gliwicach
Autor tekstu: Mariusz Olczyk [MO]
Po przesłuchaniu „Breakthrough: Live in Poland” zainteresowała mnie nie tylko sama muzyka, ale też to, jak doszło do tego spotkania. Nie wiem, kto dokładnie połączył tych muzyków: festiwal, wydawca, wcześniejsze kontakty, dobra intuicja organizatorów. Wiem natomiast, że na płycie słychać, iż nie jest to przypadkowe zestawienie.
Eli Bennett nie jest w Polsce nazwiskiem dość dobrze znanym, ale przyjechał tutaj z konkretnym dorobkiem: jako saksofonista jazzowy, kompozytor filmowy i muzyk mający za sobą doświadczenie dużych scen. Po drugiej stronie są Paweł Tomaszewski, Robert Kubiszyn i Paweł Dobrowolski, czyli muzycy, których nie trzeba traktować jako „polskiej sekcji” dopisanej do zagranicznego lidera. Każdy z nich wnosi do tego składu własne doświadczenie i sposób myślenia o zespole.
Nie będę ukrywał, że z dotychczasową twórczością Piotra Schmidta mam pewien problem. Komeda Unknown, Tear The Roof Off czy Dark Morning to płyty niby świetnie zaaranżowane, poprawne brzmieniowo i… no właśnie… i właściwie nic więcej. Do odsłuchu Hearsay przystąpiłem zatem z pewną rezerwą. Niemniej jednak ciekaw byłem, czy tym razem muzyka Piotra Schmidta okaże się bardziej pochłaniająca moją uwagę.
Od razu rzuca się w oczy wykorzystanie dwóch sekcji rytmicznych (każda z nich zagrała po pół płyty). Rodzi to pewne ryzyko braku spójności, jednak w przypadku Hearsay udało się tego uniknąć. W trakcie pierwszego odsłuchu nie miałem jeszcze świadomości tego faktu i było to w ogóle niezauważalne. Przy kolejnych odsłuchach, nastawiając się szczególnie na ten aspekt, także większych różnic nie dało się stwierdzić.
Autorem wszystkich kompozycji (za wyjątkiem Slow Motion) jest Piotr Schmidt. Poza Good Old Roy, kompozycje Schmidta są do siebie dość zbliżone pod kątem charakteru. Mamy tu do czynienia z czymś co można określić jako contemporary mainstream jazz. Mimo tego kompozycje mają na tyle ciekawą strukturę i interesujące aranżacje, że brak uczucia znużenia tą muzyką. Trzeba przyznać, że aranżacyjnie Schmidt zawsze był rewelacyjny i tak też jest w przypadku Hearsay.
Niestety, całość dość wyraźnie psują trącające infantylizmem tematy, które na domiar złego często zalatują popem (jak np. w utworze Never Give Up Sometimes Let Go). Zdecydowanie nie jest to coś, w czym gustuje moje ucho i do czego przywyknąć po prostu nie jestem w stanie. Sama muzyka ma charakter nieco tajemniczy, a tematy często podążają w zupełnie innym kierunku, co rodzi swego rodzaju dysonans poznawczy.
Całość płyty jest dość spójna brzmieniowo, ma wyraźnie sentymentalny charakter. Choć trzeba zaznaczyć, że Slow Motion autorstwa Bartosza Pieszki oraz Good Old Roy wyróżniają się dość zauważalnie na tle pozostałych utworów. Jednak nie w negatywnym sensie, a w pozytywnym. Dają pewnego rodzaju oddech i w interesujący sposób urozmaicają album.
Należy zwrócić uwagę na kapitalne brzmienie tej muzyki. To niewątpliwa zasługa Schmidta jako producenta oraz Macieja Stacha jako inżyniera dźwięku odpowiadającego także za mix i mastering. Jest to jeden z lepiej brzmiących albumów, który w tym roku miałem okazję słuchać (i nie mówię tu tylko o polskim rynku).
Hearsay całościowo oceniam naprawdę dobrze. Pomimo, że nie jest to muzyka specjalnie odkrywcza, nie da się tu nudzić. Brzmienie jest kapitalne, aranże rewelacyjne, sola wybitne… tylko te nieszczęsne, męczące ucho tematy… Gdyby nie one, byłby w mojej opinii mocny kandydat na płytę roku.
P.S. W ostatnim czasie stałem się absolutnym fanem talentu Davida Dorůžki. Hearsay tylko pogłębiło u mnie ten stan. Soundu gitary tego artysty można słuchać bez końca.
Piotr Schmidt - tp Kęstutis Vaiginis - ts, ss David Dorużka - g Paweł Tomaszewski - p Harish Raghavan / Michał Barański - b Jonathan Barber / Sebastian Kuchczyński - dr
"Komeda Unknown" (2022)
Wydawca: SJ Records
Autor tekstu: Jedrek Janicki
Jak mawia gangsterska mądrość, tematy niedomknięte należy zamykać. Wątpię by takim właśnie postanowieniem kierował się trębacz Piotr Schmidt tworząc płytę Komeda Unknown 1967, jednak w koncepcji samego tego nagrania śmiało dopatrzeć się można pewnej symboliki domykania koła historii - jakkolwiek górnolotnie i pretensjonalnie fraza ta miałaby zabrzmieć w piśmie. Na szczęście jednak, w dźwięku wypada o wiele godniej!
Jak wszyscy nawet nie tak doskonale zaznajomieni z historią polskiego jazzu wiedzą, w 1967 roku Krzysztof Komeda zaproszony został przez Joachima-Ernsta Berendta do wzięcia udziału w projekcie Jazz und Lyrik. Komeda, ryzykując ze względów politycznych naprawdę całkiem sporo, ochoczo jednak na propozycję Berendta przystał i stworzył dzieło Meine süße europäische Heimat (Moja Słodka europejska ojczyzna), będące zdumiewającą mieszanką jazzu i poezji najwybitniejszych polskich poetów. Nagranie to znakomicie zreinterpretował w 2018 sekstet Ptaszyna Wróblewskiego (płyta wyszła pod tytułem Moja słodka europejska ojczyzna w ramach serii Polish Jazz) oraz nieco mniej udanie w 2021 Sławek Jaskułke na płycie Europa 67/21.
Schmidt ze swoim zespołem nie odwołują się jednak bezpośrednio do nagrań, które znalazły się na winylu Meine süße europäische Heimat, lecz do zaginionych kompozycji Komedy z tamtej sesji nagraniowej, które na płycie nigdy się nie znalazły. Szczęśliwe zrządzenie losu chciało, że podczas szczegółowej kwerendy w Bibliotece Narodowej w Warszawie udało się odnaleźć rękopisy tych sześciu zaginionych kompozycji, które posłużyły Schmidtowi za podstawę realizacji płyty Komeda Unknown 1967 („uzupełnieniem” całości nagrania okazał się znany już wcześniej utwór After Catastrophe napisany do wiersza Campo di Fiori Czesława Miłosza).
Komeda Unknown 1967 nie jest wyłącznie wynikiem iście heglowskiej rozumnej konieczności dziejowej, lecz jako płyta sama w sobie (Kant przewraca się w głowie, Ding an sich przecież musi pozostawać nieuchwytne!) również broni się bardzo dobrze. Międzynarodowemu sekstetowi Schmidta udało się wypracować bardzo spójne i pełne brzmienie. Nie zaskakuje ono swoją wybuchowością, jednak świetnie współgra z refleksyjnymi i nieco melancholijnymi kompozycjami Komedy. Moją szczególną uwagę zwracają te nieco dynamiczniejsze fragmenty płyty, które doskonale wręcz podkreślane są przez pracę sekcji rytmicznej – posłuchajcie chociażby saksofonowej solówki Kestutisa Vaiginisa, wspartej przez podkład stworzony przez perkusistę Jonathana Barbera oraz kontrabasistę Harisha Raghavana w kompozycji When the Light of Imagination Goes Out. Co jednak moim zdaniem najważniejsze, zespołowi udało uciec się od pułapki zastawionej przez dorobek i legendę kroczącą ramię w ramię z samą muzyką Komedy. Duch Komedy sekstetu zdaje się nie obezwładniać! Brak rozbuchanej eksperymentalności i pewna oszczędność w traktowaniu materii muzycznej jest w tym wypadku świadectwem muzycznej dojrzałości sekstetu, a nie obaw o zszarganie dobrego imienia legendy. To kawał bardzo porządnie zagranego jazzu, który niesie w sobie również bardzo ciekawy koncertowy potencjał.
Jazz, pomimo swojego buntowniczego i crossoverowego charakteru, bardzo mocno osadzony bywa w tradycji i dorobku wcześniejszych mistrzów. Powrót do ich twórczości to nie tylko zadanie dla dziennikarzy i historyków muzyki, lecz także (a moim zdaniem, przede wszystkim!) samych muzyków. Świetnie więc, że jazzman dość znany jak na polskie standardy do lochów archiwów zajrzał i wyciągnął z nich perełkę – gwoli ścisłości do tych lochów zajrzał Prezes Stowarzyszenia Opieki Nad Spuścizną Krzysztofa Komedy Krzysztof Balkiewicz oraz muzykolog Justyna Raczkowska, a Schmidt ich rewelacyjne odkrycie doprowadził do formy muzycznej. Co więcej, sekstet Schmidta tę muzykę zrozumiał i w naprawdę udany sposób przedstawił ten typowo Komedowski wymiar tworzonej przez niego muzyki.
This is an album conceived of
produced by Polish (resident in Germany) bassist/arranger Joachim Sevenitz,
which presents ten well known Christmas Carols arranged in the spirit of the Jazz
idiom and involving some top Polish Jazz players like keyboardist Paweł Tomaszewski, vocalist Marta Król and drummer Paweł Dobrowolski. A string
quartet accompanies the quartet and seven guests play/sing on selected
tracks.
I usually avoid Christmas Jazz
albums like the plague (especially these days), as they usually are the epitome
of kitsch, but this album is an exception to the rule. It is both wonderfully arranged
and performed, with each of the songs being cleverly referenced to a different
musical setting.
The instrumental performances
are excellent, as expected. Tomaszewski's enchanting parts, both on the acoustic
piano and the keyboards, are simply perfect, and he remains by far one of my
favorite Polish keyboard wizards. Sevenitz and Dobrowolski take care of the rhythm
section duties with grace and the vocals express the moods nicely. The string
quartet parts fit well within the general musical messages and moods and the guests
add the proverbial cherries on top.
Overall this is a pleasant
listening experience, elegant and clever, which turns the somewhat worn-out concept
of Christmas albums into a worthy piece of music that can be enjoyed also in
the spring. Definitely worth investigating!
This is the debut album by young
(eighteen years old) Polish saxophonist / flautist / composer Marta Wajdzik
recorded in a quartet setting with veteran Jazz musicians: keyboardist Paweł Tomaszewski, bassist Robert Kubiszyn and drummer Paweł Dobrowolski. Zuzanna Wajdzik (Marta's
sister) adds vocalese on a couple of tracks. The album presents seven original
compositions, all by Wajdzik.
The music is all melody based mainstream
Jazz, bordering on Fusion due to electric keyboards and bass ambience and
dynamic drumming. Some ethnic influences are also present in the music, which
offers a nice variety. The compositions are solid and coherent, serving as
ideal basis for the extended improvisations and the up-tempo rhythmic character
of most of the tunes makes the music flow briskly from one tune to another,
offering a pleasant listening experience.
Most of the solo work on the
album is performed by the myriad of keyboard instruments, and Tomaszewski's
limitless imagination finds plenty of opportunities to skyrocket. Wajdzik solos
sparingly, which is understandable considering her limited experience and
technical skills, and she mostly states the melodic themes, leaving the
expressive improvisations in the hands of Tomaszewski. The rhythm section is
superb all the way, playing respectively in the background with an occasional bass
solo, but offering interesting bottom harmony and rhythmic intensity.
One might wonder if the album
was not recorded a bit too early as far as Wajdzik is concerned. With all due
respect to wunderkinds, their stories usually end in a rather grim manner in
the long range. Hopefully this is not the case here and I am anxiously awaiting
her real debut sometime in the future. Overall this is an impressive
debut, but not entirely earned by Wajdzik herself and with another team of
players might have sounded quite different. Good luck and may the Force be with
you young Lady!
Broken Brass Ensemble to prawdziwa petarda energetyczna i gwarancja wyśmienitej zabawy dla każdego. Holenderski oktet w rewelacyjny sposób łączy tradycyjny nowoorleański jazz z hip-hopem, funky, bluesem, soulem i muzyką dance. Muzycy podbili publiczność licznych europejskich festiwali i klubów muzycznych. Jak pisał po jednym z ich koncertów recenzent Time Out: Poczucie radości i wspólnoty połączone z nieodpartymi rytmami i energią poderwało całą publiczność na nogi. Polscy fani zapewne pamiętają Broken Brass Ensemble z występu na zeszłorocznym Katowice JazzArt Festival w Centrum Kultury Miasta Ogrodów, gdzie kilkusetosobowa widownia została wciągnięta do wspólnej zabawy. Jazz się tańczy!
Grzegorz Nagórski Euphonium Electric Quartet - Chorzów, Sztygarka - 07.10.2018, godz. 19.00.
Wybitny puzonista jazzowy, kompozytor i euphonista, Grzegorz Nagórski, zadebiutował na Festiwalu Pianistów Jazzowych w Kaliszu w 1982 wraz z zespołem Jana Ptaszyna Wróblewskiego. W latach 1990 i 1995 studiował i koncertował w Miami i Nowym Jorku, współpracując z multiinstrumentalistą Irą Sullivanem i jego Inner Outer Continental Quintet oraz występując z takimi artystami jak: Ray Charles, Tito Puente, Joe Henderson, Jimmy Heath, Michael Brecker, Maria Schneider, Phil Woods, Slide Hampton, Arturo Sandoval, "Charlie Persip Super Big Band ", John Fedchock i Red Rodney. Po powrocie do Polski kontynuował koncerty i nagrania z takimi muzykami jak: Bob Brookmeyer, Billy Harper, Robert Majewski, Piotr Wojtasik, Claus Raible Joris Teepe, Henryk Miśkiewicz, Zbigniew Namysłowski, Billy Cobham, Chick Corea, Joe Lovano czy Maria Schneider. Wziął udział w nagraniu około 40 albumów.
Pierwszy album Grzegorz Nagórski Quartet "Dedication" nagrany w akustycznym kwartecie z Łukaszem Żytą, Pawłem Tomaszewskim i Andrzejem Święsem dostał trzy nominacje do nagrody Fryderyka 2009 i otrzymał statuetkę za Jazzowy Fonograficzny Debiut Roku. Następny album „Over And Over” ponownie otrzymał trzy nominacje do nagrody Fryderyka 2012. Poszerzenie spektrum brzmienia o kolejny instrument – euphonium - zaowocowało wydaną w 2017 roku płytą „The Optimist”, nagraną jako Grzegorz Nagórski Euphonium Electric Quartet. Skład zespołu współtworzą najwybitniejsi polscy muzycy: Paweł Tomaszewski na instrumentach klawiszowych, Michał Barański na gitarze basowej, Paweł Dobrowolski na perkusji oraz lider na mało znanym instrumencie, odmianie małej tuby - euphonium.
This is the third album as a leader by Polish Jazz trombonist/composer Grzegorz Nagórski, this time recorded in a quartet setting which features keyboardist Paweł Tomaszewski, bassist Michał Barański and drummer Paweł Dobrowolski. Nagórski plays this time on the euphonium, rather than on his customary trombone, which makes this album quite unique, as euphonium is rarely used as the leading instrument. The album presents six original compositions, all by Nagórski.
The music is actually quite
surprising, very melodic and mainstream oriented, but definitely not trivial. Most
of the time it sounds very Funky and offers a lot of Grove and Soul hints and
to me is reminiscent to the music composed by the great George Duke and Herbie
Hancock in their electric periods. Overall it could be described as Jazz-Funk, Jazz-Soul
or Jazz Rock Fusion. Nagórski's compositions are all first rate.
The euphonium proves to be, as
expected, a very difficult instrument as a leading voice of a quartet, and in
spite of the fact that Nagórski handles it very skillfully, it is essentially
up to the other musicians to provide most of the harmonic and rhythmic
contents, which of course they do perfectly, as expected from the highly
professional and talented musicians they are. Tomaszewski's keyboards are an
absolute delight and he is definitely as excellent in the electric department
as he is in front of the acoustic piano and for some time one of my favorite Polish
keyboard players.
Overall this is a very pleasant
and musically satisfying album, which at the same time offers an attempt to use
an unusual instrument in a Jazz environment. The music should be acceptable to
a wide circle of Jazz/Fusion listeners and guaranties a well spent time while
listening to this music.
This is the third album by Polish Jazz guitarist/composer Daniel Popiałkiewicz, recorded in a quartet setting with a stellar lineup consisting of keyboardist Paweł Tomaszewski, bassist Robert Kubiszyn and drummer Paweł Dobrowolski. The album presents ten original compositions, all by Popiałkiewicz (although not explicitly stated so the album's artwork).
The music is an exquisite,
highly melodic Fusion, full of well crafted melodies, quirky rhythms and
unpredictable harmonic charges, which keeps the listener on edge during the
entire duration of the album, never quite sure of what to expect next. There is
a constant feeling of agility and vitality, which drives the music relentlessly
straight into the listener's sub-consciousness, before he is able to analyze
what exactly is going on. It takes several listening session in order to
comprehend this music in a more relaxed ambiance and start detecting the myriad
of interplays, ornamentations and fast arpeggios that happen as if on a
separate plane. In short this is Fusion with a high level of sophistication,
which basically happens very rarely within the idiom.
Not surprisingly the
performances are nothing short of stellar. Popiałkiewicz, obviously unfamiliar
to Fusion/guitar freaks outside of his country, is such a surprising
virtuoso, that most of his fellow Fusion guitar cohorts the world over would be
simply left speechless and jaw dropped if they ever listened to this album. He
uses a plethora of sounds, techniques, effects and other tricks of the trade,
as a result of which he never sounds alike for more than a short while during
the entire duration of this album. The only way to understand what I mean is to
listen to this music, as words are inadequate to convey it.
But Popiałkiewicz gets a
tremendous support from his colleagues. Tomaszewski is one of the most talented
Polish keyboardists, whose progress in the last few years is nothing short of
stellar. He feels perfectly natural in mainstream Jazz and in the Fusion environments
and his contributions on this album are absolutely stunning. Kubiszyn is
probably the most sensitive electric bass player on the Polish scene, and no
wonder that he is highly sought after session player with the top Polish Jazz
musicians. His fretless bass playing on this album is a worthy of the status of
the greatest mavericks of the instrument in Fusion history. Dobrowolski is an
incredibly sensitive drummer, with impeccable technique and atomic clock
precision, and his playing, which is way beyond just keeping time, in an
integral part of this album's identity and musical significance.
In short if I had to pick up
just one Fusion album released in 2017, this one beats all others easily,
leaving only a cloud of dust behind. Fusion and guitar freaks will be fainting
to the sound of this album and even a hard-ass critic like yours truly had a
hard time to control his emotions. Fusion heaven is here!
This is a wonderful album, which presents twelve original compositions by Polish pianist/composer Malgorzata Maliszczak, based on poems (by prominent Polish poetesses and poets), which present the feminine "point of view". The beautiful texts and superb music go hand in hand, creating a gorgeous set of songs, carefully arranged and Jazzed up, performed by four vocalists: Lora Szafran, Mietek Szczesniak, Beata Przybytek and Agnieszka Mali. The vocalists are supported by a great team of instrumentalist, including many of the top Polish Jazz players, like the great pianist Pawel Tomaszewski, bassist Andrzej Swies, drummer Pawel Dobrowolski and many others. Kudos to Tomasz Kalwak for producing this gem!
The album firmly continues the
Polish Jazz & Poetry tradition, which goes back to the 1960s and always has
been one of the most successful expressions of the local Culture. It is good to
see that it has not been abandoned so far, even though the contemporary music
scene makes every effort to annihilate every sign of Culture itself. Of course
the fact that these poems were written in the Polish language limits the
potential audience, I'm pretty sure that even non-Polish speakers should be
able to enjoy this album in full.
Personally I find Beata
Przybytek to be the most striking vocalist on this album, but all four artists
make a grand job, including the veteran Szafran, who seems to be still in great
form. The instrumental work is perfectly suiting the lyrical atmosphere, with
subtle soloing and attentive accompaniment. This album simply says
"elegance and grace" minute after minute, and when it is eventually
over, one longs for more.
Overall this is a splendid
effort and everybody who contributed to its creating deserves to be
wholeheartedly thanked and congratulated. One can only hope that it will be
heard by as many people as possible, who can truly appreciate it.
This is the debut album by the Polish Jazz duo: vocalist Wojciech Myrczek and pianist Paweł Tomaszewski. Myrczek recorded his debut album three years earlier while he was still a student at the Katowice Academy of Music, where he is now a member of the faculty. Tomaszewski, a graduate of the same Academy, is a seasoned and much respected pianist with an impressive recorded legacy, mostly as a sideman. The album presents ten classic vocal standards performed by the duo, recorded in a Swiss studio with astounding sonic quality.
In many respects this is the
most surprising album released on the Polish Jazz scene in 2014. I mean the
sheer chutzpah of these two guys fooling around with the holy grail of Jazz
vocals? Who do they think they are? The trifling comparison often quoted in the
duo's PR material and other reviews referencing this album to the archetypal
Tony Bennett & Bill Evans albums from 1975 & 1977 is completely
counterproductive in this case. This music sounds nothing like the referenced
albums, which of course is all for the good, since letting the bygones be
bygones is the only way to get anywhere.
Initially the album has
everything working against it. The Polish Jazz male vocalists are few and far
between, and with rare exceptions are all quite insignificant. The standards
all feature lyrics in English and Polish vocalist singing in English usually
simply stink (again with very few exceptions). But most importantly: the
concept of this duo, which places a vocalist, who uses conventional (well
mostly) techniques against a pianist who plays completely unconventionally,
often pretty wildly and freely, is absolutely atypical for a vocals/piano
setting.
And yet, against all odds, this
album is simply a gem from start to finish. Myrczek arises as a gifted vocal
magician, able to use a wide vocabulary of possibilities, from crooning
sweetness to improvised scat, vocalese and imitating bass lines vocally. It is
obvious that he is having a great time and there is no tension (other that
creative tension of course) limiting his performances. Although there is not
much innovation as far as Jazz singing is concerned, with obvious references
ranging from Kurt Elling to Bobby McFerrin, the overall effect of his singing
is simply irresistible. There is also an obvious pinch of humor omnipresent
herein, most evident when Myrczek recites a fragment of a book in the Polish
language in the middle of one of the songs. Even his English accent and
pronunciation are only very slightly off, which can be considered as charming,
rather than disturbing.
Tomaszewski, in complete
contrast to Myrczek, treats the music completely on his own terms, playing
anything but what would normally be expected of him and taking liberties with the
melodies, the chords and even the time, which although must have been very
difficult for Myrczek to sing along with, is wonderfully effective, creating a
much more expressive result than the usual vocals/piano setting. Comparing
his work on his earlier recordings, including those featuring vocalists, his
playing here is the more adventurous and daring than ever. His work on this
album definitely marks him as one of the Polish Jazz pianists who deserve a
much wider exposure than what he enjoys currently.
So here we are again; the
Polish Jazz scene is able to come up with another pleasant surprise, which is
pretty astonishing, considering the overly excellent level of music released in
Poland.
The music this album offers is nothing but pure joy, elegance, class and
panache, all of the highest caliber. It is definitely one of the nicest releases
of 2014, which should stay with the listeners for many years to come.
Another surprising element is
the fact that this album was released by the For Tune label, which is usually
associated with avant-garde and other alternative music forms. It is
heartwarming to see that the label recognized the fact that seemingly conventional
music can also be challenging and adventurous. The album is the label's debut
on the new "pink" series (the exact meaning of the various colors of
their releases is kept in deep secret), and regardless of the
"pinkness", will be very had to beat.
This is the debut album by a young Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Przemyslaw Florczak, recorded with his quartet which includes also organist Pawel Tomaszewski, bassist Pawel Puszczalo and drummer Sebastian Kuchczynski. The album presents seven tracks, six of which are original compositions, all by Florczak, and one is a Charles Mingus piece. Florczak is also a member of the excellent group Biotone.
The album is very impressive, especially as a debut, and presents a portrait of mature musicianship by the leader both as a performer and a composer. All the quartet members are excellent players, both as individuals and collective contributors. The decision to use the organ, rather than acoustic piano, turns this album into a completely unique experience, as this highly unusual combination opens a whole new world of sonic experience and wonderful unisono passages. The saxophone and the organ simply blend together fabulously and one wonders why they are not used together more often.
The compositions are also surprisingly excellent, well within the Jazz mainstream but incorporating many cross-genre elements, like bits of Funk, Bossa and even World-Music influences. Beautifully put together and intelligently arranged, they are a true pleasure to listen to. This music is fun (in the best meaning of the word) from start to finish, being both accessible to a wide range of listeners and sophisticated enough to draw the attention of the connoisseurs.
Florczak plays beautifully throughout, being especially impressive on the lyrical pieces, where his wonderful tone and delicate delivery is often breathtaking. Tomaszewski is also "stealing" a large part of the show with his superb organ lines, which bring on memories of times long gone. The rhythm section is simply perfect for the job, providing the vehicle for the two soloists to shine and keeping the wagon on the road.
The album has a surprisingly exquisite sound quality, which turns out to be less surprising after reading the bane of sound engineer Jan Smoczynski on the cover, who was in charge "only" of mix and mastering this time, but his signature is well recognized.
Overall this is a true gem, sadly somewhat overlooked on the crowded Polish Jazz scene, where albums are being released at an incredible rate, but definitely worth digging out and investigating. Well done indeed!
Although released under the name of American Jazz trumpeter Michael Patches Stewart, this is in fact a product of cooperation between American and Polish Jazz musicians. The Americans also include saxophonist Kenny Garrett, keyboardist George Duke (on one track only), drummer Poogie Bell and a few others. The Poles are represented by bassist / keyboardist Robert Kubiszyn, guitarist Marek Napiorkowski, keyboardist Pawel Tomaszewski and others. The album comprises of eight tracks, four of which were composed by Kubiszyn and the remaining four by American composers. One track includes vocals.
The music has almost nothing to do with Jazz and is a kind of instrumental Soul / Funk with only marginal Jazzy touches. The melodies are completely banal and unremarkable and the improvisations shallow. The performances are well executed, which is not surprising considering the level of the musicians involved and their professionalism. However the overall result is pretty miserable, screaming "muzak" and "elevator music" from start to finish. Why such talented musicians would stoop so low is completely beyond me and I hope they'd all rather forget this disaster ASAP.
This is an album containing basically only blues music. Still it features some of the best Polish jazz players as guitarist Jarek Śmietana, keyboardists Wojtek Karolak and Paweł Tomaszewski, bassist Marcin Lamch and drummer Adam Czerwiński, so it is justified to write about it on this blog. Co-leader, along with Śmietana, is an Australian vocalist Bill Neal who occasionally also play some notes on tenor sax.
Such a high-quality team produces of course very good music. They reproduce all time blues and rock classics from repertoire of such well known bands as The Animals, Fleetwood Mac or such great musicians as Ray Charles or Jimmy Hendrix. Most of these tunes Jarek Śmietana and Wojtek Karolak arranged for studio album of the latter titled "I love The Blues" and released a year before this disc.
The time has comes for some assesement of this music. I believe it can be two-fold depending on which point of view you represent. If you treat blues (or jazz) as some definite form of music which is basically finished and shall be now copied (better or worse) by new generations then you should be very happy with this album. It sounds very well, even if nothing special distinguishes it from similar (or identical) one (or more) hundred other good blues albums recorded during last, say, century or so.
However if you feel that blues (and especially jazz) shall be living form of music whose vitality depends on its ability to change to reflect the evolution of world around then it is rather depressing. No challenge, no innovation, no creativity - very well played but so well known that eventually boring.
This is a brilliant debut album by the young Polish Saxophonist / composer Krzysztof Urbanski and his quartet, with pianist Pawel Tomaszewski, bassist Michal Baranski and drummer Tomasz Torres. The album presents seven compositions, five of which are his originals and two are standards.
From the fist note it is quite apparent that Urbanski is not just one more upcoming saxophonist on a scene overflowing with young talent; he has star quality which is unmistakable. Although the music on this album fits well within the classical Jazz convention (and I'm purposely avoiding the term "mainstream", which unfortunately over the years becomes more often than not associated with mediocrity), Urbanski manages to find very early in his career a very individual tone and approach, which happens very rarely with young players. It is obvious he is capable of reaching beyond the obvious and daring without apprehension, as evident herein for example on his treatment of the two standards, especially the John Coltrane's "Giant Steps", which he in a transfixing way manages to turn upside down rhythmically.
Urbanski the saxophonist is truly something else; his beautiful tone, which in its gentle and sweet manifestation is somewhat similar to Stan Getz and on the more energetic side to the young Wayne Shorter. Anybody in doubt should simply listen to the solo saxophone track on this album to comprehend Urbanski's qualities. The five original compositions also prove a maturity one hardly expects to find in young Jazz composers. His melodic, harmonic and rhythmic vocabulary spans the Jazz tradition and presents elegant, intelligent and highly aesthetic listening experience, which simply grows with each listening session.
Very worm words of praise also go to the superb rhythm section, which enables his to spread his wings but also contributes some excellent moments on its own right, with interesting solos and fabulous team work throughout this album. Tomasz Torres, the son of the legendary Polish (of Cuban origin) percussionist Jose Torres, pushes the quartet with beautiful polyrhythmic and Afro-Cuban influenced drive. Michal Baranski is already a household name on the Polish scene, known as one of the best new generation bassist in the country and his beautiful work on this album reflects his amazing talent. Pawel Tomaszewski also managed to establish quite a reputation despite his young age, with numerous recordings behind him. His solos on this album are simply top class, and his support of the leader is simply perfect.
This is definitely one of the strongest debut albums released on the Polish Jazz scene in recent years, deserving a much stronger applause then it received in actuality. Urbanski is definitely someone to keep an eye on. Wholeheartedly recommended!
This is the debut solo album by Polish vocalist Marta Krol, a beautiful Silesian Princess whose looks turn men into stone on sight ;) On the album she presents ten Jazz and Pop standards, dressed up in excellent new arrangements, by keyboardist / arranger Tomasz Kalwak, who also plays some additional keyboards on the album. She is accompanied by a wonderful quartet of Polish Jazz musicians: saxophonist Dawid Glowczewski, pianist Pawel Tomaszewski, bassist Andrzej Swies and drummer Pawel Dobrowolski.
Krol has a delightfully warm voice, which she uses most effectively and with a natural charm and sex-appeal. Her musical education is immediately apparent, as she stays in tune at all times, even during the tricky passages and obviously keeps well in-synch with her band. The accompaniment is excellent, with many interesting solo spots by Glowczewski, beautiful piano and Fender Rhodes parts by Tomaszewski and solid and sympathetic support from the rhythm section with virtuosic, but kept in low profile bass parts by Swies, who is consistently perfect every time he appears on record and earns a well deserved position among the best contemporary Polish bassists.
However, in spite of the Jazzy arrangements and instrumental passages, this album is only marginally Jazzy per se. Krol lacks the Jazz sensitivities and fundamental improvisational approach, singing mostly "straight forward". That does not mean she is doing anything wrong, but if the purpose of this album was to present her as a Jazz singer, it fails to do so. Nevertheless it is a very pleasant and well done piece of music, which deserves all praise, especially in view of the fact that it is her debut effort.
Of course there is the usual problem of Polish vocalists stubbornly trying to sing in English, which is an insurmountable barrier, which simply keeps reappearing on almost all vocal albums recorded in the country. It's not that Krol's pronunciation and accent are terribly wrong; in fact they are not too bad at all, but her struggle to sound "right" takes away her attention from the music, as always.
My advice to the lovely young lady would be perhaps to try and find out her unique own style, which would amalgamate Soul, Pop, Blues and just a dash of Jazz, and which would serve her vocal talents to the max. And of course perhaps a bit more risk-taking and ambitious material, original if possible and preferably in Polish – with such a formula she is destined to reach places. But than again, who am I, an old fart, to give advice to lovely young ladies singing the Blues?
Overall this is an impressive debut, which holds many promises for those with patience to wait for the lady's future endeavors. I certainly intend to do so.
Łukasz Żyta - drums
Paweł Tomaszewski - piano
Andrzej Święs - double bass
Dedication (BCD Records, 2008)
There is much difference between being "old-school" and "old-fashioned". Trombonist Grzegorz Nagorski may be best described by this second adjective as he seems to somehow ignoring what has happened in jazz since 70 or 80ties XXth century. On the other hand one must admit that within his "old-fashioned" language this record sounds very attractive and performances are absolutely stunning. I feel a bit ashamed to confess that regardless its limitations I tend to return to this recording quite often and have pure pleasure while listening to it...
Track listing: 1.Changes 5:39; 2.Dedication 5:53; 3.Aleksandra 6:53; 4.Latino 7:48; 5.RIO 1992 3:40; 6.Like Shirley 5:05; 7.Inspired by M.B. 5:45; 8.N.Y.C. Waltz 6:17; 9.Waltz For My Mom 2:48
Tune from "Over And Over", the next album by Grzegorz Nabórski Quartet. As title suggests little changes take place in this band music from one album to the other so this tune may be treated as representative for previous recordings of Nagórski as well:
I reviewed favourably debut recording ("The Hope For Tomorrow") by guitarist Daniel Popiałkiewicz. He easily counts among most promising young guitarists in Poland along with Rafał Sarnecki, Przemek Strączek or Marek Kądziela. In this album he expands his band from trio to quartet, keeping excellent rhythm section from his first record in persons of drummer Krzysztof Gradziuk and double-bassist Maciej Garbowski but adding Paweł Tomaszewski on piano. Natural question is how does this music sound when compared to his last year debut? And it sounds good, adding the piano made music richer obviously and if we reckon that all compositions are originals by Popiałkiewicz then this album may be described as fully satisfactory release confirming how great potential he possess. He is extremely fortunate to have a drummer like Gradziuk along himself! Gradziuk catapults this music to stratosphere and Popialkiewicz guitar feels very well on such high quality background. Maciej Garbowski adds solidity to this framework while Paweł Tomaszewski piano accompaniment is impeccable if somewhat too predictable. In terms of style this music is inspired by ECM version of modern jazz but rocking guitar of Popiałkiewicz and creative drumming by Gradziuk add necessary drop of surprise to make it appealing even to those a bit weary of ECM aesthetics.
Paweł Tomaszewski - piano/rhodes
Andrzej Święs - d/bass
Paweł Dobrowolski - ds
Tomasz Kalwak - keyb/arrange
First Look (STJ, 2011)
It would be mistake to overlook this debut by Marta Król! Her voice is well-controlled, has depth and colour enough not only to attract attention but to keep it long enough to listen to the whole album. Consisting of standards it is typical debut disc which introduces talented jazz vocalist who is singing in charming, natural and emotional way. High quality Polish jazz players accompany her (Dawid Główczeski - sax, Paweł Tomaszewski - piano, Andrzej Święs - double bass, Paweł Dobrowolski - drums, Tomasz Lakwak - keyboards) who create top quality background for her singing. Although still having a lot time to develop her own individual style, she already offers good performance and has even better prospects for future...
Please listen Marta Król singing "Light My Fire" from this album....
Grzegorz Nagórski is an educator teaching jazz in Music Academy in Warsaw. His proficiency on trombone is beyond question and on his recordings he usually gathers around himself equally virtuoso musicians. This recording is not exception: pianist Paweł Tomaszewski (guess why he is nicknamed "Herbie"), bassist Andrzej Święs and drummer Łukasz Żyta are among the brightest stars in Polish jazz. It is therefore no surprise that music is brilliantly executed and it is a pure pleasure to listen to this elegant muse even if it brings nothing new to the language of jazz. Finally, let me notice that a situation of trombone in Polish jazz does not look bad at all because just recently I have listened to three quality releases featuring trombonist as a leader: this one by Grzegorz Nagórski, "Unspoken Words" by Michał Tomaszczyk's band Biotone and "Enthuzjazzm" by Grzegorz Rogala. It is comforting that these three albums bring different music, cool jazz, hard bop and folk jazz respectively, and only, as usual, I do regret that there is not in this "trombone parade in Polish jazz" any trombone blowing a little more free and avantgarde notes...
Check an excellent tune titled "Shadows from this album:
